Celebrating our city's diverse culinary scene.

The catfish and grits breakfast at The Breakfast Klub is a big ol' piece of battered and fried catfish, two eggs cooked however you want, a biscuit or toast, and a delectable mound of perfect grits with a little pool of yellow butter in the center. It's the ideal combination of seafood and carbs for breakfast.

The Marie Laveau features tender and juicy Dr Pepper-braised short rib with just a hint of herbal sweetness from the soda, stewed collard greens and house-made honey mustard with a kick. That's all served on a Kraftsmen challah bun sprinkled with crispy shallot strings that can get quite messy from all the saucy stuff inside.

This wood-fired pizza is topped with crumbled Italian sausage, prosciutto, cured coppa, salumi toscano and pepperoni. Each meat originates on a pig, but they are all cured and prepared differently (and from different cuts) to create a diversity of pork flavors all on one delectable round package. The final product is drizzled with a Parmesan cream sauce and a bit of scamorza.

It's a deceptively simple sandwich, but the bright pop of acidic mustard and the little bits of creamy fat in the thinly sliced mortadella add new dimensions to what's arguably a glorified meat, cheese and tomato sandwich. When that golden yolk breaks and oozes all over the rest of the sandwich, the ensuing flavor combination — meaty and buttery, salty and tart — is a thing of beauty.

At Américas, they get lamb just right. The marinade helps keep it juicy and tender while adding an extra dimension to a meat that can often be gamy. It's grilled so that it's nice and charred on the outside, but still soft and pink in the center.

Unlike many meat-free burgers that use fillers like bread crumbs and weird, science-project pseudo-meat, Gratifi's black bean patty is just that: black beans. In addition to being substantial, the burger is also delicious, thanks to the addition of salsa to the patty and the thick slice of pepper Jack melted ontop.

The "Date With a Pig" is served by the single date on the bar menu, and it's drizzled with homemade north African chermoula. The date is slightly sweet, the chorizo it's stuffed with is creamy and slightly spicy, the bacon wrapped around the whole thing is fatty and crisp, and the drizzle of chermoula adds a hint of cumin and garlic to the mix.

No. 74,Taco al Pastorat Taco Keto

1401 Cullen, 713-224-1898

For only $1.50, you get a single taco filled with cheese and chunks of sliced pork that appear to have been pan-fried to achieve a crisp on the outside of the corn tortilla, along with papas sautéed with cumin and chile and blackened around the edges, caramelized onions, fresh cilantro, half a lemon, and a generous helping of green tomatillo and jalapeño salsa on top.

Chewy macaroni is doused in a cheese sauce that comes from an 80-year-old family recipe, then this creamy combo is topped with a layer of homemade chili that's rich and hearty enough to stand on its own without the added mac and cheese. Corn chips scattered on top provide a nice crunch.

Kenny & Ziggy's does pot pie by stewing a hearty mixture of lean cubed chicken, celery, onion and carrot in a thick, meaty broth, then topping the whole thing with a buttery, flaky puff pastry hat. It's not too salty, as many pot pies and stews can be, nor is it too glutinous from flour added to the broth to thicken it. The meat is tender and flavorful.

The Lazy Lane frites are served in a big bowl — bigger than I anticipated for an appetizer — of slightly curly, dark orangey-brown fries tossed in sauce au poivre, grated Parmesan, truffle oil and chives. Then the mound of frites is topped with a generous portion of seared foie gras.

It's three scoops of different ice cream — chocolate, vanilla and Nutella with marshmallows — and three types of sauce — a dark-maroon berry jam, a milk chocolate shell and rich fudge. The banana slices are sprinkled with a little sugar and then caramelized with a torch before being added to the ice cream, along with candied pecans, whipped cream and impossibly cool Nutella powder.

I have to say that I'm loyal to Oh My Gogi for kimchi fries-- no fake cheese there (after eating Oh My Gogi so many times, Koagie Hots' fries were a real letdown...) shredded cheese, chipotle mayo, sriracha, cilantro, onion and of course, bulgogi has won my heart over, time and time again.